Victorians make the Boomerangs preliminary squad

AHEAD of the 2019 INAS Global Games, the Australian Boomerangs have named their preliminary squad for a Melbourne camp from 16-17 March.

This will be the first of two major camps for the Boomerangs as they begin preparations for the INAS Global Games which will be held in Australia for the first time ever when Brisbane hosts the event from October 12-19.

In 2004, the INAS Global Games were established and are now a permanent competition run every four years for athletes with an intellectual disability.

“Being able to play on home soil at this year’s tournament is definitely an advantage,” said Boomerangs head coach Dr. Julia Walsh.

“Playing in front of family and friends is always a positive and there are other benefits such as not needing to recover from flights and keeping all of our preparation consistent.”

The Boomerangs squad comes together following the Ivor Burge Championships where 16 of the 17 athletes competed including six gold-medal winning South Australians.

“This squad is athletic and has the capacity to run a strong inside and outside game,” said Walsh.

“We have maturing athletes who consistently do their job and a group of new athletes that bring exciting opportunities to the team. The staff is delighted with this team’s depth of talent and what that enables us to create on the floor.”

After reaching the Ivor Burge Championship final four years in a row, South Australia finally broke through to win their first ever gold medal in 2019.

Jordan Palmer top-scored with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the final, Zachary George-Dent had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, Keenan George-Dent added 11 points and 13 boards while Heath Anderson recorded eight points and ten rebounds off the bench.

They defeated Victoria who were led by Player of the Tournament Jake De La Motte after he averaged 29.8 points per game through the week, Ryan Briggs who finished third overall for steals with 4.7 per contest and big man James DeBetta who averaged 11.5 rebounds in his tournament debut.

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